HO CHI MINH CITY – Every early morning, a lot of customers wait patiently for tens of minutes to buy sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves by Mrs. Hanh, on Ngo Thi Thu Minh street, Tan Binh district.
At 7:00 on May 28, the sticky rice shop on the side of Pham Van Hai market, Tan Binh district, of Mrs. Bich Hanh was crowded with customers waiting to buy. The shop is located on the sidewalk, without a sign, with an area of less than 10 m2, just enough for tables and chairs to order sticky rice, spices and side dishes.
“I’ve been selling for nearly a decade now, every morning is packed with buyers, only takes about 3 hours to run out of sticky rice,” the 52-year-old owner said.
Originally from the North, Ms. Hanh sells sticky rice cooked according to the traditional flavors of her homeland. In particular, sticky rice is wrapped in lotus leaves instead of the usual styrofoam box.
“From the first day of sale, I chose lotus leaves to pack to keep the traditional flavor, help the sticky rice have a light aroma, keep the warmth and plasticity of the sticky rice seeds and also protect the environment,” the owner said.
Ms. Hanh sells 4 types of sticky rice, including sticky rice, corn, nuggets, and peanuts (sticky sticky rice with peanuts) at an affordable price of 15,000 to 20,000 VND each. Lotus is taken from Dong Thap, every day the seller consumes about ten kilograms of leaves.
Customers often buy two or more servings of sticky rice to make breakfast for the whole family, and have to wait 10 to 15 minutes. Although crowded, each portion of sticky rice the shop owner made quite quickly, in less than a minute.
The shop is crowded, so every day Huy, 27 years old, also helps his mother in the early morning before going to work. He said, every day, the whole family usually gets up at 3 o’clock to cook sticky rice, arrange lotus leaves, make spices…
Eating sticky rice here from the early days of selling, three times a week, Ms. Phuong Anh drives nearly 5 km from home to buy for the whole family. “I’m from Hanoi, so I like to eat it, my favorite is sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves, which is both delicious and traditional,” said the 50-year-old woman.
“I found this restaurant to be well known, so I stopped by today to try it. The first impression was that the price was reasonable, the sticky rice was plentiful and the package of lotus leaves looked very rustic,” said Thanh Ngan, 19 years old.
The shop also sells Gai cakes, Banh Chung, and spring rolls… made in the Northern style.
The sticky rice shop opens from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., every day and cooks about 20 kg of sticky rice, 15 kg of corn, and 3 kg of nuggets. Because it is located on the sidewalk, the space is a bit tight, customers should leave the car neatly to ensure traffic.